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| Cody Cooley and the company Photo by Jeremy Daniel |
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Unless you have been under a rock for the past 20 plus years you should know the answer to that question. SpongeBob Squarepants is an animated TV show that has been airing on Nickelodeon since May 1st, 1999. The show follows SpongeBob and his friends on their adventures in the wonderful underwater world of Bikini Bottom. The series’ success, admiration, and continuing development led to the idea of a musical. With such well-known memorable characters, Tina Landau and Kyle Jarrow decided to create SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical. It premiered on Broadway in 2017 and now the 2019-2020 National Tour is making its way to Phoenix, Arizona at the Orpheum Theatre.
“It’s an all-original plotline written by Tina Landau our director and Kyle Jarrow our book writer,” explained Cody Cooley, who plays the character Squidward. “It starts off a typical day in Bikini Bottom and within the first 5-10 minutes, we have the news that a natural disaster is going to happen. It’s about how the characters and the community as a whole deal with the situation of impending doom.”
The musical follows the characters through multiple musical numbers that dazzle the audience with bright colors and costumes as the lovable characters try to fix the problem. Obviously, the characters of the TV show are animated creatures and becoming that animated character on stage can be an interesting process.
“Our director, Tina, allowed us to bring as much of ourselves as possible because the characters are based in a human reality,” Cooley explained. “She describes it as the silhouette or little essences of the character that we play throughout our performance. I didn’t feel boxed in like 'I have to play a cartoon.' I felt like I could approach it honestly. I always identified with Squidward, I think he is funny. I believe he is the more human character of the world that is SpongeBob because the character SpongeBob is such an optimistic and energetic person that you don’t see as often in real life. But you see Squidwards almost every day.”
There are a lot of Squidwards in the world but this particular one wants SpongeBob and all his friends to know that he has talent! Cooley explained that Squidward’s goal is to put on a show at the Bikini Bottom band show and perform an act to show everybody that he has talent. Assuming it is his last chance before destruction hits Bikini Bottom. The number is called “I’m Not a Loser” and Squidward tap dances.
Well, Squidward, who of course is a squid, has multiple legs. Cooley has to wear a costume contraption that gives him two more legs, coming to a total of four that have to tap dance.
“It is like a harness apparatus,” Cooley began to explain. “It’s almost like a corset and it has snaps, velcro, and suspenders to keep it on my body. Then the feet are attached together so I have full control of when they bend and move. Tapping in them was a challenge. I am wearing four tap shoes one on each leg and tentacle leg. I want to make sure the sounds are correct, on top of making it look real, on top of making it look easy. It’s a juggling act but it worked. Luckily, I had access to my tentacle legs any time we were rehearsing which was wonderful. I probably ended up running the number twice a day throughout the rehearsal process which really built up my stamina. Probably the worst part of it was the stamina but other than that it’s just fun.”
On top of that huge adjustment, there are other challenges that Cooley and the cast have to face. With the show being on the road, the theatre venues change with each new city. This particular musical heavily relies on the space it is performed in. Therefore blocking and staging changes for the cast every time they travel to a new place.
“This show is based around the space that it is performed in because we have a lot of audience interactions and entrances for it to be an immersive experience,” Cooley stated. “However, because it is so designed around the house, what’s been challenging is how that adapts on the road because every space is different. The concept or idea of the show never changes but the venue always changes. It is drastically different than what I am used to. So we have to be adaptive, we will get a break down of each new house in each new city we perform in and it keeps the show alive in that sense.”
Throughout this intense process, performers often learn lessons from their experiences. Cooley shared some of the takeaways he has gained from this musical.
“I’ve learned how to calm my nerves a lot,” Cooley smiled. “Traveling you are on the road and in different places and houses. You are expected to do a lot of work and be on point. I was unsure I could do that, I didn’t want to let the fans down. It is a huge endeavor because this is the first National Tour of the show. So I’ve just been going through the waves of nerves but I’ve learned how to calm them which is great because now I know I can do it. I can calm and center myself to give a good show.”
“It’s a fun time, it is just so fun,” Cooley explained. “It is a true Broadway show and you will identify with the characters. You will walk away smiling no matter if you are a life-long fan of SpongeBob or not, or you’re a kid or you’re 94 you will love the show. I hope audiences walk away with joy. In our first big cast meeting, Tina said what she set out to do with this show on Broadway was about spreading joy and that it was even more the case now being on the road. That’s really what we all want to spread you know?”
CLICK HERE for more information on SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical which plays the Orpheum Theatre in Downtown Phoenix from January 31st through February 2nd
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